When I was young, we would visit the Oregon Zoo several times a year. I loved owls, and I would carry a little Audubon pocket guide and look up all the information I could find about the various owl breeds as we encountered their enclosures. The Oregon Zoo also has a successful Asian elephant conversation program. Several baby elephants have been born there during my lifetime – it’s a multi-generational herd – so it was fun to visit and see the elephant calves running around.
All this to say, I love zoos. On one of the rare sunny afternoons we’ve had this summer, we took our first trip out to the Milwaukee County Zoo. Although on the small side, this zoo offered all the usual zoo animal favorites, such as the frolicking penguins when you first enter and the large giraffe herd lazily chomping on leaves.
The enclosures are well thought out. Many can be seen from multiple angles and levels with both indoor and outdoors viewing windows. This meant we were able to spot almost all the animals, including typically elusive zoo residents like tigers and rhinos.
We particularly enjoyed the Big Cats exhibit, featuring tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, and snow leopards, and the large tank with fish found locally in Wisconsin.
Another favorite was the flamingo pond. It was so tranquil watching them stand on the grass and in the water, with their bright pink against the green landscape. Flamingos are pink because of pigments called carotenoids in the food that they eat – which is why some types are more pink than others!
We really enjoyed the Milwaukee County Zoo experience, and appreciated the high animal viewing-to-enclosure ratio that the exhibit design and layout invoked. We are looking forward to visiting again soon!
pieces of paper (cranes & airplanes) 